Category: Literature

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Internalized Ideas of Beauty in Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “Perfect in Parts”

If you enjoy what you read here at Interminable Rambling, think about making a contribution on our Patreon page.  Recently, I had the chance to read Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s new collection of short stories, The Beautiful Ones are Not Yet Born (UL Press 2018). One story that immediately caught my attention was “Perfect in Parts,” a piece that, like Claude McKay’s Banana Bottom and Frank … Read More Internalized Ideas of Beauty in Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “Perfect in Parts”

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Things I Learned at ASANOR 2018

If you enjoy what you read here at Interminable Rambling, think about making a contribution on our Patreon page.  This past week, I attended the American Studies Association of Norway (ASANOR) conference on the past and future of cosmopolitanism in Kristiansand, Norway. While there, I learned a lot, as hopefully usual for conferences. Today, I want to take the time to briefly write about … Read More Things I Learned at ASANOR 2018

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Charles Chesnutt’s “Paul Marchand” and the Social Construction of Race: Part II

If you enjoy what you read here at Interminable Rambling, think about making a contribution on our Patreon page.  In the last post, I spoke some about the “legal fictions” that Charles Chesnutt highlights in Paul Marchand, F.M.C., specifically with the relationship between Paul and Julie and with the terms that the narrator deploys throughout the novel. Today, I want to continue this discussion … Read More Charles Chesnutt’s “Paul Marchand” and the Social Construction of Race: Part II

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Charles Chesnutt’s “Paul Marchand” and the Social Construction of Race: Part I

If you enjoy what you read here at Interminable Rambling, think about making a contribution on our Patreon page.  Charles Chesnutt’s Paul Marchand, F.M.C. highlights the legal fictions constructing race in America and the absolute absurdity of such constructions. Today, I want to look at some of the ways that Chesnutt illuminates the construction of race through legal fictions in the novel. Chesnutt explores … Read More Charles Chesnutt’s “Paul Marchand” and the Social Construction of Race: Part I

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Reflections on the End of the Semester

The end of each academic year brings fatigue, a one or two week break, then a return to the classroom for the summer session. This has been my schedule for a large part of my academic career, mainly out of necessity. I’ve written about the struggles and problems with contingent faculty before, and I do not want to dredge up that discussion here. Rather, … Read More Reflections on the End of the Semester